Old Fashioned Molasses Crinkles
August 10, 2007 by Marye Audet
Filed under Cookies
I have always loved good molasses cookies. The key word is, of course, good. They are hard to find. These are from epicurious with a few of my own tweaks…you will know them when you see them..
There is something about one of these with a cup of coffee that has me sitting in my aunt’s kitchen watching her get a meal for her farming family. Just about the time these would come out of the oven the milk truck would pull up to get the milk and the driver always had to get a couple of these *for the road*. That’s just how it was back then…These cookies are about red checked fabrics, and aprons, and wonderful smells.
You can sandwich these together with cream cheese in the middle..or ice cream..or pumpkin butter…or…
Cold milk or coffee are essential!
Molasses Crinkles
6 dozen
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger ( I use a full teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or 1/4 tsp chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable shortening at room temperature
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup grandmas molasses (NOT black strap or barbados!)
granulated sugar for sugaring tops of cookies
Whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, and salt in a bowl until combined.
Beat together shortening, butter, and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a stand mixer (preferably fitted with paddle attachment) or 6 minutes with a handheld. Add egg and molasses, beating until combined. Reduce speed to low, then mix in flour mixture until combined.
Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
Roll 1 heaping teaspoon of dough into a 1-inch ball with wet hands, then dip 1 end of ball in sanding sugar. Make more cookies in same manner, arranging them, sugared side up, 2 inches apart on 2 ungreased baking sheets.
Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until undersides are golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes total, then cool on sheets 1 minute. Transfer to racks to cool completely.
tif- so glad you let me know that you liked them!
Made these yesterday and truly did follow the instructions. They taste great, but are really flat, about 3/8 inch. They are crispy outside, and chewy inside, and I don’t think anyone would guess about the chipotle powder. Next time I’ll try chilling the dough before baking, and I’ll also use a 1-teaspoon measuring spoon instead of a teaspoon from our flatware set. I think that will make them a little smaller, closer to ginger snaps.
I am glad that you found a way to make them work for you.
ME, seriously…..get a life. It’s not a photography site.
These absolutely were the hit of our cookie swap! I followed the recipe to the letter and they came out so perfect that everyone thought I cheated and had bought them made already! They turned out so good my sister, who had another cookie swap the next day, scratched her recipe and made these instead! Thanks for sharing your recipe – this will become one of my families must haves every year! Simply gorgeous and you cannot beat the scrumptious taste!
That’s great Stacey! Thanks for letting me know.
We burnt half the batch. The dough smells funky but the cookies are DERICIOUS!
ps: “ME” is a jerk. Pictures don’t show diddlysquat.
this recipie looks really good! I’m making it this weekend, i’ve decided that I’m gonna use it in a cookie contest for my school! Great job Marye, you’re amazing!
How did it go Panda?
really well, I make them again tomorrow fo rthe final round. Everybody loved them!
Congrats Panda! Let us know!
I baked my cookies for 10 minutes. They are much darker than the picture. I used Grandma Molasses and dark brown sugar. They are flat and crispy. I tried chilling the dough for an hour for the second batch but they are still flat. Where am I going wrong? They taste great, though. Very similar to a ginger snap.
Sheila
It sounds like they were over cooked or there wasn’t enough flour. The cookies will be puffy and almost raw in the middle when you get them out. Some ovens cook hotter than others. Also, the amount of flour can vary, depending on the brand, the weather, and other factors.
What is Grandma Molasses? I’m in the UK. The only molasses we can get here that I’m aware of is called treacle. Do you perhaps mean Golden Syrup?
Maz- it is always hard to translate
. Grandma’s molasses is unsulphured molasses….I am not sure what the equivalent is there..but no, not golden syrup..I think that is more like Corn SYrup.
I was pretty skeptical making the batter–it was AWFUL–but the cookies are delicious! Thanks for the grear recipe!
Delicious but gross batter! I really like them.
ummm..thanks..I think.